Rachel G thanks. While in some ways MP is Austne's most brilliant novel there are these stretches! that make it diffcult to accept...

I feel that Austen "has" to make Mary excessively callous and stupid here... as I've said not that she would not think of Tom's death but that she would joke about it to Fanny....

and I think that there are times when Fanny's reactions ARENT correct, and while soemtimes Austen as narrator steps in and "tells" us that F is being a bit silly here and over reacting to various things (such as her beleif that Mary will be the ruinatio of Edmund etc) at othe times she does seem to "side" iwth Fanny excessively and also, having shown us how very worldly minded that Sir T can be, we are expected to see him as the "fount of wisdom" instead of a very divided and dare I say it confused character...